The Dream Team
by Ghostwriter
Summary: When the Springwood Slasher returns, Joey, Kristen, and Kincaid---with some help from Nancy---lead their friends in a fight for survival.
1. Warrior's Fright

THE DREAM TEAM

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

My second rewrite of NOES 4. Once again, Nancy's still alive, via my fic Survivors. Replaces the deaths of Joey and Kincaid with the two guys who made fun of Sheila and then veers off differently from there. The African-American's name is Greg and the Caucasian's name is Steve. Everything up to now has happened exactly like the movie. The beginning of the fic uses some pieces of the actual film as well as some lines, but I'll try to make it as different as possible. For this fic, Alice actually has a crush on Joey rather than Dan. Rated T--but nothing worse than you'd see in an actual movie.

_When Greg opened his eyes, he gasped. Where the heck was he? It was all black. He pounded on the hood and realized he was in a car. __**How the heck did I wind up here?**_ _he wondered. Grunting, he managed to pop open the hood. Then, he jumped out. He was unaware of the bones that were reassembling themselves. Suddenly, there was a loud click. Greg gasped. To his horror, there was a man wearing a brown fedora and a red-and-green sweater. But what caught his attention the most was the razored glove on his right hand. The man chuckled and Greg took off. He bumped into something and fell to the ground. The man chuckled and pulled the boy to his feet._

_"Wh--who are you?" Greg whispered. The only answer was a chuckle. Then, the man jammed his razors into the boy's stomach._ Meanwhile, Steve was reading a sports magazine and listening to the music video that was on MTV. The boy glanced at a picture of a woman in a skimpy waitress uniform. _Man, she's hot_, the boy thought to himself. He yawned and closed his eyes briefly. _ Suddenly, he heard a noise from his closet. __**What the heck?**__ the boy wondered. The rattling came again. Curious, the boy got off his bed and went to check. To his surprise, the woman from the ad was in his closet._

_"Hey, hot stuff. Wanna take your order?" she flirted. Steve gulped. __**Oh, boy**__, he thought to himself. The woman crooked a finger and motioned for him to come in. The boy did so, and then closed the door. There was a thumping noise, and then deep moaning. A few minutes later there was a horrified scream. Maniacal laughter rang out as blood leaked through the crack in the door. _ The next morning, Kristen Parker was sitting on a bench, a cigarette in her hand. She took a shaky drag.

"There you are," Alice Johnson said. "Rick's been looking all over for you," she continued.

"Have you seen Joey and Kincaid? I can't find them anywhere," Kristen worriedly stated.

"I'm sure they're around," Alice said.

"Well, **I**'**m** not so sure," Kristen responded. Then, she noticed the look on her friend's face. "We have matching luggage again," she said. Alice looked at her in confusion. "The bags under your eyes," Kristen explained, pointing for emphasis. "Nightmares?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Alice nodded. Kristen sighed. "Man, I **hate** dreaming," she complained. _If only the hospital hadn't taken away our Hypnocil_, she thought to herself.

"Mmm. I **love** to dream. I just hate the ones about my dad," Alice responded.

"How do you handle your nightmares?" Kristen wondered.

"My mom taught me…when I was little," Alice answered. "You ever hear of the Dream Master?" she queried.

"Sounds like a game show host to me," Kristen replied.

"No, it's a rhyme," Alice corrected her friend. "Just have to dream about some place fun. Remember you're in control," she continued.

"Oh, like lucid dreaming," Kristen commented. _That's what Nancy taught us_, she thought to herself.

"Uh, yeah…I guess," Alice said.

"How do you know so much about dreaming?" Kristen queried.

"Well, when it's all you have, you kinda become an expert," Alice told her.

"But you have to be careful when you dream. You never know **what** could happen," Kristen cautioned. Alice looked at her in confusion. "Never mind," she said. Then as the bell rang, "We better get going before your brother starts a search party." With that, they walked into the school. Kristen went into her homeroom, where Alice's brother Rick was discussing something with some of their classmates. But Kristen didn't hear what he was saying. All she could focus on were the two empty seats.

"Kincaid. Joey," she said. "No," she continued in a frightened voice. Rick stopped in midsentence.

"Kris, where were you?" he asked.

"He killed them!" she shouted.

"What?" Rick asked, coming over.

"NO!" she screamed. "He killed them! They're gone! He killed them!" she shouted.

"Kris, Kris, stop! What's wrong?!" he shouted, trying to hold her. It was to this scene that Roland Kincaid and Joey Crusel walked into.

"HE KILLED THEM! HE KILLED THEM!" Kristen shouted.

"Kristen!" Kincaid shouted. He and Joey rushed to her.

"No! No!" Kristen screamed.

"Kristen, Kristen, we're right here," Joey said hurriedly, coming up to the distraught girl and attempting to calm her flailing. She continued to struggle.

"KRISTEN!" Seeing no other choice, Kincaid slapped her across the face. The impact startled the girl into ceasing her action and she stared at them.

"Hey. It's okay," Joey told her.

"Kincaid! Joey! Thank God!" Kristen sighed in relief, throwing her arms around them.

"Kincaid's car broke down. We had to walk the rest of the way," Joey told her.

"I thought he had gotten you," Kristen admitted, hugging them tighter.

"Hey, we wouldn't leave ya," Joey assured.

"That's right, Little Sister. We're a team," Kincaid added. Rick and the others looked at each other, and then at the trio. What was going on?


	2. Nightmarish Return

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven. I only own the new direction the fic goes in. There are a couple of refs Dream Warriors as well as a flashback in this chap.

After school, Kincaid, Joey, and Kristen headed out to the parking lot, discussing the absence of Greg and Steve.

"I don't know, you guys. It just doesn't feel right," Kristen insisted.

"Everyone knows they're pretty lazy. They're probably just playing hooky," Joey disagreed.

"I don't know. I had a nightmare last night…**he** was there," Kristen. At this, Joey and Kincaid turned to her.

"What? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" the boys questioned, each perusing her body.

"Burned my fingers on a pipe," Kristen answered, showing her right hand to her friends.

"Oh, man. I'm sorry, Kris. We should've believed you," Joey sighed. _Way to go, moron_, he berated himself.

"It's okay. I can understand why you didn't want to believe it," Kristen told him. They all fell silent. "Can I give you guys a lift anywhere?" she offered after a minute.

"Westin Hills. I've got counseling with Nancy today," Joey replied.

"All right," Kristen replied. That sounded good. She actually wanted to talk to the woman herself.

"Man, you **still** need to see her?" Kincaid questioned.

"Hey, you try being literally tongue-tied over a raging volcano and see how long it takes **you** to get over it," Joey responded. Kincaid fell silent. Joey had him there. Just then, Rick came over.

"Oh, look. Your boyfriend's coming," Kincaid said sarcastically.

"Kincaid," Kristen hissed, jabbing him in the side with an elbow.

"Kris, what's up? You just takin' off?" Rick asked.

"Uh, yeah. We, uh--we got somethin' we gotta take care of," Kristen answered.

"Hey, I can help ya," Rick told her.

"No you can't. I had a nightmare, and I need my team," Kristen stated.

"Hey, I'll keep the boogeyman away," Rick said, trying to take her into his arms.

"Sorry Rick, you can't help me. This isn't a normal nightmare," Kristen responded, pulling out of the embrace.

"Come on, Little Sister," Kincaid said. With that, the trio continued to her car, leaving a speechless Rick behind. Then, he scoffed. _What is up with her?_ he wondered, shaking his head. On the drive to Westin Hills, Joey and Kincaid looked to Kristen, who was unusually quiet.

"Hey, I thought **I** was the mute one," Joey said, nudging her shoulder.

"Joey, you haven't shut up since you woke up from the coma," Kristen replied. Kincaid stifled a laugh.

"Mean," Joey accused. Minutes later, they arrived at the building. Kristen parked the car and the three walked in. As they walked up the receptionist desk, one of the nurses--Marcie--came strolling through the halls.

"Oh, hi, Joey. Here for your appointment with Dr. Thompson?" she questioned.

"That's right," Joey answered, staring her straight in the eyes. Unbidden, a memory came back to him.

_**"Do you like my body, Joey?" Marcie asked, gesturing to her naked body.**_

"Joey?" Kristen snapped her fingers in front of his face and whistled.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Are you okay? You flashed again," Kristen commented, using the group's term for his flashbacks.

"Yeah. I--I just **really** need to talk to Nancy," Joey stammered.

"We'll wait," Kristen said. Just then, Dr. Nancy Thompson came out.

"Joey. Right on time," she approved.

"Hey, Nancy," the boy grinned.

"Come on. We'll use the same room as last time," the woman stated. Meanwhile, at home, Alice was in her room after being berated by her father. She pulled out a photo someone had taken of a class trip. In it were Kristen, Joey, and Kincaid, as the boy liked to be called. Joey and Kincaid were in the middle of a mock wrestling match and Kristen had thrown her head back in laughter.

"Hey," a voice said. Alice quickly hid the photo. She turned to see her brother, who caught the flustered action.

"What were you looking at?" Rick wondered, walking over to her,

"Nothing. Just a silly little picture," Alice answered.

"Well, if it's nothing, you won't mind me checking it out," Rick stated, as he leaned over to take the picture.

"Rick!" Alice protested.

"Come on, I'm not gonna--" Rick's response died off when he saw who was in the picture. "Alice, we've been through this. Crusel is no good for you," he reminded her.

"You don't know what he's like! You hardly say two words to him," Alice pointed out.

"Alice, he's dangerous. He was in a mental hospital," Rick persisted.

"And so was Kristen," Alice countered. "Kind of hypocritical of you, don't you think?" she continued.

"Alice, I don't like him. Or his friend Kincaid," Rick said.

"Rick, are you sure you're not just jealous that Kristen turned to **them** instead of **you**?" Alice queried. Rick opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had no answer. Then, "Enough of this. I don't want to fight."

"So, have you given any thought to what I told you the other night?" Rick questioned, changing the subject.

"About the martial arts? Oh, I don't know, Rick. I just don't think it's my thing," Alice told him.

"I think it could do you some real good, Alice," Rick stated.

"I'll think about it some more," Alice promised. Meanwhile, at Westin Hills, Nancy and Joey were in deep discussion.

"I just--I just don't know what's wrong with me, Nancy. I mean--I--I don't dream about him anymore. I should be able to get what happened out of my head," Joey sighed, mussing up his hair with his hands.

"Joey, you were--for lack of a better term--**molested**--and add to the fact that he put you in a coma…no one's expecting you to be over it just like that," Nancy stated, snapping her fingers. Joey blew out a breath and messed up his hair some more.

"I just feel like I'm never gonna be able to look at another girl without remembering what Krueger did to me," he complained. Kristen and Kincaid looked at each other.

"You okay?" Kincaid asked.

"Just wish I could do more for Joey," Kristen replied.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kincaid agreed. Back at the Johnson house, Alice had finally fallen asleep. _She looked around. __**Ah, the beach**__, she thought with a smile_. _She __**loved**__ this place. She walked around, letting the sand sink in between her toes. Presently, she noticed a little girl._

_"Hello," she greeted. The girl looked at her._

_"You shouldn't have come," she told her._

_"What do you mean?" Alice asked. Before the girl could answer, there was a clap of thunder, and then she heard a slow, ominous chant._

_One, two, Freddy's coming for you._

_Three, four, better lock your door._

_Five, six, grab your crucifix._

_Seven, eight, gonna stay up late._

_Nine, ten, never sleep again. _

_Alice stared at the kids who had suddenly materialized just as everything had gotten dark. What was going on?_

_"Okay, Alice. Just remember you're in control," she coached herself. There was a throaty chuckle. __With a gasp, she turned around. To her horror, she saw the silhouette of a man standing beneath one of the palm trees. Alice's throat constricted._ _She didn't like this dream anymore. The man chuckled and began to approach her. With a gasp, she took off._ _There was a shout of triumphant laughter. Alice kept running. Suddenly, she tripped over something and she toppled to the ground. The man laughed again. He bent down to her level. Alice's eyes widened as she caught sight of the four gleaming blades._

_"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed, raising her right arm in defense._

"Alice! Alice!" Rick struggled to immobilize his sister. "NOOOOO!" Alice cried again, finally awakening.

"Are you okay? You were screaming like crazy," Rick noted.

"Oh, Rick! It was so horrible! I was on the beach, and there was this little girl--and then these kids appeared, and then man--this horrible man," Alice sobbed, falling into her brother's arms.

"Hey, it's okay. I've got you," Rick promised, hugging her. His brows furrowed in confusion as he felt something slick and sticky on his shoulder.

"Alice," he said.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"You're--" his voice caught and his gaze went to her arm. "You're bleeding," he noted. Confused, she followed his gaze. Her eyes widened. On her right arm were four sharp, razor-like claw marks.


	3. Warriors' Realization

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

CarlySpencer: Thanks. Here's more.

Darkness Takes Over: Thanks.

Windyfontaine (Chs 1-2): Yep. Thank you. Nope. Thank you for all of the above.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven. As I rereading the chaps, I realized that I had actually called Alice "Kris" at one point, and that I made it seem like Alice's nightmare was happening in the afternoon when it was supposed to be much later in the evening. Sorry for the mix-up. I use a line from the movie. I use a variation of a concept I had in my first re-write.

After Rick had bandaged Alice's wound, the girl had refused to go back to sleep. She didn't want to risk seeing that horrible man again. For this reason, Alice was bleary-eyed when her alarm went off. She and Rick went about their morning routine and then waited in the drive.

"Rick?" Alice finally spoke up.

"Yeah?" Rick asked.

"Do you think Kristen might know about that horrible man?" Alice wondered.

"Alice--" Rick began.

"Don't you dare say it was just a nightmare! Does a nightmare do **this** to a person?" Alice shouted, showing him her arm.

"Alice, I don't know what's going on, and I don't know how Kristen would be able to tell us anything about some weird guy you saw in your sleep," Rick told her.

"Well, it's worth a try," Alice insisted.

"I guess," Rick sighed as Kristen pulled up. They walked up to the car. Kristen's eyes were instantly drawn to the gauze on Alice's right arm.

"What happened?" she asked. _Was it Freddy? Did he try to hurt Alice?_ she wondered. Rick and Alice looked at each other, and Alice made a decision.

"I had a nightmare last night. There was this horrible man--" she began.

"Get in," her friend interrupted.

"Wha--what?" the siblings stammered.

"Get in! We have to go," Kristen told them. Rick and Alice looked at each other. "**Now**!" Kristen emphasized. Rick and Alice did as they were told. As she Kristen hurried towards the school, her mind raced. It was just as she feared: Freddy was back. All too soon, they were at Springwood High. On campus, Kristen immediately began her search for Joey and Kincaid.

"Kristen, wait up!" Alice called.

"Kris, slow down," Rick added. Meanwhile, Joey and Kincaid were leaning against a wall and talking quietly.

"She was right. We should've listened to her: she was right," Joey commented, favoring his left leg.

"Yeah, I forgot that she could sense him," Kincaid added, rubbing his shoulder.

"Hey, how you doin' anyway? I mean, he slammed you pretty hard," Joey noted.

"I'm all right. I just wanna know how the heck **you** pulled **me** into **your** dream," Kincaid said. Just then, Joey noticed their friend coming up the steps.

"There she is," he said. They walked up to her.

"Hey, guys," she greeted. Then, before they could answer, "Listen guys, we got a **big** problem."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Joey agreed. He and Kincaid spoke at the same time Kristen did.

"Freddy's back," they all said together.


	4. Warriors Attacked

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

CarlySpencer: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema, as well as some lines from the actual movie and NOES 1. I only own the new direction the story goes in. Forgot to mention it, but Nancy and Neil have been reinstated at Westin Hills and this story **will** have some language. I know bathroom doors don't generally have mirrors, but I need one for this fic. Bathroom scene inspired by Krueger's attack on Kristen and the others watching Phillip's death in Dream Warriors. Window scene inspired by the scene in Dream Masters.

Joey, Kincaid, and Kristen all stared at each other.

"How did **you** know?" they all wondered together. Joey and Kincaid looked at each other, and then motioned for Kristen to go first.

"Apparently Alice had a nightmare. Freddy was in it," Kristen explained. "What about you guys?" she queried.

"I had a nightmare too. I was in his house--he, uh--he tried to get me to go down to the boiler room. He grabbed me and I called for Kincaid," Joey answered.

"Next thing I know, I'm in that freaky place again. Creep threw me against the wall," Kincaid continued.

"W--wait. H--how could Joey--" Kristen's voice trailed off.

"That's what **I** wanna know. That's **your** power, not **mine**," Joey stated.

"Oh, terrific," Kristen said dourly.

"Sorry, Little Sister. We shoulda listened to ya," Kincaid apologized.

"It's all right. I'm just glad you're okay," Kristen responded.

"Wait. I'm--I'm still confused as to what exactly's going on here," Alice stammered.

"We'll explain everything after school," Kristen promised. "But first, we have to see how far it's spread," she continued. With that, she hurried into the school, Kincaid and Joey flanked around her. Alice and Rick hurried after them. Meanwhile, Debbie Stevens, Sheila Kopecky, and Dan Jordan were talking in class. At least Debbie and Dan were talking. Sheila was just trying to stay awake. She yawned.

"Hey, you okay?" Debbie questioned.

"Oh, I am dead on my feet. I had the most horrible nightmare last night," Sheila answered.

"You had a nightmare?" Debbie queried. Sheila nodded. "So did **I**," the female athlete told her.

"What'd you dream about?" Dan wondered.

"There was this weird guy in a red-and-green sweater. He was really creepy. And the sound of his fingernails--" Debbie began to say.

"Fingernails?" Sheila interrupted. Debbie nodded.

"That reminds me of **my** dream. Did he scrape them along things?" Sheila asked.

"Yeah," Debbie nodded. Then, "Did your dream have those weird kids?"

"Yeah," Sheila answered. "And that rhyme," she said.

"That was the freakiest thing I've ever heard," Debbie confirmed with a shudder.

"Rhyme?" Dan echoed.

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you," Sheila began.

"Three, four, better lock your door," Debbie joined in.

"Five, six, grab your crucifix," they chorused together.

"Seven, eight, gonna stay up late," a new voice chimed in. The trio turned around.

"Nine, ten, never sleep again," Kristen, Joey and Kincaid finished.

"You know about the rhyme?" Debbie asked in disbelief. Dan looked at Joey and Kincaid in confusion. What would these guys know about Debbie and Sheila's strange dreams.

"Where'd he take you?" Joey questioned. Debbie and Sheila looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" Sheila asked.

"Were you in a house?" Kristen prodded.

"No. It was dark, there were metal pipes everywhere--" Sheila began to say.

"The boiler room," Joey confirmed. "He took you to the boiler room," he said. Dan stared at him as the group walked up to them.

"Look, she just had a bad dream. It's nothing to get upset about," he said.

"Shows what **you** know," Joey responded. "He's comin' back for us. We all better be careful," he continued.

"No Dan's right. It was just a normal nightmare," Sheila agreed.

"I don't think so, Sheila. I had a nightmare last night too," Alice stated. "Look what happened," she continued, pulling up her sleeve to show the wound. The whole group stared at the injury.

"Man, that's nasty," Joey breathed.

"Yeah, seriously. What kind of bastard does this?" Dan added.

"The sick kind," Kincaid answered. He blew out a breath.

"We can help you. We'll all go to Westin Hills after school," Kristen stated.

"The psych place? Why?" Dan questioned.

"Nancy will know what to do. She'll know how to stop him," Joey commented.

"Yeah," Kristen nodded. Then, before the others could ask any other questions, the teacher came in and started the class.

"We'll talk later," Joey stated. Then, they all took their seats. The man started his lecture and Joey put his chin in his hand. Presently, his eyes began to drop. His head began to droop and--something poked him in the hand.

"Owwww," he said. Then, looking at Kincaid, "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, no problem," his friend answered. Joey focused on the teacher. His head once again drooped. _When his eyes opened again, everyone else was gone._

_"Guys?" he asked._ _"Hey, where are you?" he wondered. There was no answer. "Guys?" he asked again, opening the door._

_"Joey! Joey, help!" he heard Kristen call._

_"Kristen?" he questioned. There was a scream. "KRIS!" he shouted, running down the halls. There was another scream. Joey quickened his pace, and within moments, was running down the stairs. Without warning, the stairs melded together and Joey found himself falling to the floor in a heap. He groaned and struggled to stand. SCREE!_ _He gasped. The sound came again and Joey whirled around._

_"What the hell?" he wondered. There was a tsking sound._

_"Such language," a low voice mocked. Joey's face paled._

_"Krueger," he whispered. He tried to stand, but his left leg buckled and he went down with a cry. Before he could move again, he was pinned to the railing, eagle-style._

_"Oh, man. Not again," he groaned. Krueger chuckled as he appeared at the end of the hall._

_"Kristen," Joey said. __**Maybe I can pull her in like I did Kincaid**__, he_ _thought to himself. Inhumanly fast, Krueger arrived halfway to his destination. "Kristen!" he shouted desperately._ _**Please, Kris. Come in!**_ _he thought. Then,_ _Krueger was right in front of him! The man reared back his glove and then struck._

_"KRIS--TEN!" Joey shouted, his voice breaking into an agonized sob as Krueger feverishly carved something into his chest._ _With a gasp, Joey jerked awake._

_"Joey, are you okay?" Kristen questioned. Joey quickly looked down. To his surprised relief, his shirt was still intact._ _He lifted it up just to be sure. He felt his shoulders sag as he let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding. There were no new marks, only the old scars from the previous message, which had been removed by surgery._

_"Oh, thank God," he sighed._

_"Joey, what is it?" Alice asked in concern._

_"I had the freakiest dream. Thought I was a goner," Joey answered._

_"Come on, man. I gotta make a pit stop before our next class," Kincaid said._

_"Dude, when are you gonna learn to go __**before**__ you leave home?" Joey questioned._

_"Screw you," Kincaid answered._

_"Sorry, you're not my type, Kincaid," Joey told him, as they exited the classroom. The boys headed for the bathroom._

_"I'll just be a minute, man," Kincaid said, opening the door. _

_"I'll wait," Joey commented. Kincaid went into a stall and Joey tapped his foot. A minute later, Kincaid came out and walked up to the sink. The faucet handles loomed out and grabbed Kincaid's wrists._

"_What the hell?" the boy asked struggling to free himself. Joey started to come in. Without warning, the door slammed shut!_

_"What the hell!?" Joey asked. He grabbed the doorknob and rattled it, but the door wouldn't budge. "Kincaid! Kincaid!" he cried._ _Through the door's mirror, he saw the bathroom mirror mist up. Then, Krueger's form materialized in the mirror._

_"NO! KINCAID!" Joey shouted, pulling on the knob harder. Kincaid tried to get away, but to no avail. Joey gave up on the knob and began pounding on the door. "KINCAID! KINCAID!" he continued to cry. Kincaid gave a strained grunt as he strained against the faucets._ _Krueger saw what he was doing and made his hand into a fist, effectively tightening the faucets grip. Joey once again grabbed the knob._

_"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!" he chanted. Kincaid continued his attempt to free himself. Krueger turned his wrist. Almost immediately, Kincaid's wrist began turning the wrong. Both boys felt their eyes widen at the sight._

_"OH, DAMN! KINCAID!" Joey shouted._ _There was a resounding crack and Kincaid whimpered in pain. Krueger chuckled. Then, he leaned out of the mirror and pulled Kincaid into the air. _

_"KINCAID! KICAID!" Joey shouted over his friend's screams. Krueger violently jerked Kincaid forward._

_"KIN--CAA--A--A--A--AID!" Joey screamed. _The next thing Joey knew his classmates were screaming as the windows shattered.

"Joey?" Kristen asked in concern.

"Kincaid!" Joey exclaimed, turning to his friend.

"Bastard broke my wrist!" Kincaid complained, holding his right wrist. Then, "Dude, your chest!" With a noise of confusion, Joey looked down and his face paled.

"Aw, man, not again," he groaned. There, etched in his chest, were the words: **GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCH!**


	5. Getting Help

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Windyfontaine (chs 3-4): Yep. Enjoy. I'm glad you're truckin' on. Thank you. Thanks. That's right. Thanks.

CarlySpencer: Glad you like. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the new plot. I can't remember what type of car Dan drives, so I apologize if it's wrong.

"We better get you guys to Nancy," Kristen commented.

"Yeah…good idea," Joey agreed shakily.

"Wait. We can't just leave school," Dan told them.

"Screw school! That bastard's trying to kill us!" Joey shouted.

"Come on, guys. Let's go," Kristen stated. With that, they headed out, with Alice close behind.

"Alice, what are you doing?" Rick wondered.

"They know about that horrible man. Maybe they'll know how to stop him," Alice commented.

"Well, hold on. I'm coming with you," Rick told her. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he **did** know that someone or something had tried to hurt his sister…and that wasn't something he'd let go. Rick and Alice got into Kristen's car, and Joey and Kincaid got into Kincaid's car.

"Okay, you're sure it's fixed this time?" Joey questioned, being careful not to put too much pressure on his left leg.

"Cute, man. Real cute," Kincaid shot back. Joey chuckled as he got into the driver's seat.

"You sure you can drive? I mean, with your chest and everything?" Kincaid asked.

"I can drive better than you can. You're the one with the busted wrist," Joey retorted.

"That's cold, man," Kincaid told him.

"That's why they call it the truth," Joey said. Kincaid threw his friend the keys.

"Thanks, man," Joey stated.

"Yeah, whatever, man. Just be careful with my baby," Kincaid said. Joey scoffed, started the engine, and headed down the road for Westin Hills.

"So, Kris, what are we goin' to the psych place for?" Rick asked.

"We're going to Westin Hills because Nancy's there. She'll help us with Krueger," Kristen answered.

"Krueger?" Rick and Alice chorused.

"I'll explain everything once we're there," Kristen told them. As she drove down the familiar path to Westin Hills, Kristen's eyes clouded. She remembered when Krueger had attacked her in her bathroom and made it look like a suicide attempt. And now he had just tried to do the same thing to Kincaid. The girl shook her head angrily. She had sensed that he was back. Why hadn't she pressed it harder? Why had she let herself let her guard down like that? Kincaid had been hurt and it was **her** fault. Alice and Rick looked at each other, each unsure of what to say to their friend. Meanwhile, Dan, Sheila, and Debbie, were in Dan's red Chevy Truck.

"I don't know, you two. I still say you both just had bad dreams," Dan commented.

"About the same guy? Come on," Debbie commented.

"Yeah, okay. **That**'**s** a little weird," Dan admitted. Debbie scoffed. At Westin Hills, Neil and Nancy were making their rounds.

"So, I heard that Joey was here the other day," Neil commented after they had looked into a few rooms.

"Yeah. He needed to talk," Nancy answered.

"How's he doing?" Neil wondered.

"He's still a little shaky," Nancy responded. Neil nodded as he peeked into a room. He couldn't blame the boy. They continued on their way. When the kids reached the hospital, they parked, and then headed for the entrance. Rick, Alice, Debbie, Dan, and Sheila followed Joey, Kristen, and Kincaid who seemed to have a purpose. Once inside, Joey, Kristen, and Kincaid walked down the halls, Kincaid keeping a discreet eye on his friend who was limping slightly. Presently, they were stopped by one of the orderlies.

"Hey, whoa. You can't go anywhere," he said.

"We're here to see Nancy," Joey stated.

"Hey, I remember you. The mute kid," the orderly recalled.

"Only 'cause no one believed me," Joey responded. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we really **do** need to talk to Nancy," he continued.

"Sorry, that's undoable. Unless of course, she and I work something out," the man leered.

"Like what? You giving her the latest disease? Tell ya what Lorenzo: let us through, and I won't tell Dr. Carver that you've been filchin' the meds from the dispensary to feed your drug habit," Joey commented. Lorenzo stammered, and then let them pass.

"Joey, that was amazing!" Kristen commented.

"Yo, man, how'd you know that?" Kincaid wondered.

""Let's just say becoming selectively mute has its advantages," Joey commented grimly. Then, they hurried down the halls, Joey ignoring the pain radiating from his injury. Hearing footsteps, Nancy and Neil stopped.

"Do you hear something?" Nancy questioned.

"Yeah," Neil nodded. They turned around and followed the sound. To their surprise, there was a small group of kids.

"Shouldn't you guys be in school?" Nancy chided.

"Nancy, we need your help--Krueger's back," Joey told her.

"Oh, no," Nancy said. Just then, there was a scream.


	6. Two More Victims

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Darkness Takes over: Thanks.

CarlySpencer: I take you like. I figured he'd do somethin' like that. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. Got one death from the original draft of Dream Warriors, and was the original death for Joey. I only own the new plot. Reference to NOES 2 and 3.

"What's going on?" Joey wondered.

"I don't know," Nancy replied. Kristen gasped.

"Kristen, what is it?" Alice asked.

"He's nearby," Kristen reported.

"Who? Krueger?" Joey queried. She nodded. There came another cry and they headed towards the sound. They skidded to a stop and Alice screamed. One of the kids was twisting and turning in the air as if being spun by someone.

"Damn! What is he doing to him?" Kincaid wondered. Suddenly, the spinning stopped, and the boy flew through the air, each limb going in different directions, much like a rubber band. Alice screamed.

"Oh, my gosh!" Dan cried.

"Call the police! Now!" Nancy barked at one of the orderlies. The man did as he was told.

"Wha--what's going on?" Alice stammered.

"It was Freddy," Kristen said.

"You mean this is real? This is really real?" Rick questioned shakily.

"It's real," Joey confirmed.

"Oh, man. This can't be happening. You can't--you can't die in your dreams, you just can't!" Rick insisted frantically.

"Yeah, beg to differ, man," Joey answered. The orderly came back out.

"I've called the police. They'll be here soon," he announced.

"Thank you," Nancy told them.

"Nancy, how are we gonna explain about Freddy?" Kristen questioned.

"I don't know, Kristen," Nancy answered. Noticing Alice's panicked look, Joey walked towards her.

"How you holding up?" he questioned.

"I can't--I can't believe this is really happening. It was that horrible man; wasn't it? The man I saw in my dream," she replied.

"Yeah, it was him," he confirmed.

"Wh--what are we gonna do?" she wondered.

"Hey, don't worry. Kris, Kincaid, and I are on it," he promised her. Presently, the officers came in. The two officers came in. One whistled.

"Damn. What happened here?" he wondered.

"Garcia?" Nancy questioned in surprise.

"Nancy?" Ernesto Garcia asked in the same tone.

"Wh--what are **you** doing here?" Nancy wondered.

"I was in the vicinity when the call came through," Garcia replied. "Nancy, do you know what's going on?" he queried.

"I do, but you probably won't believe me," Nancy responded. Garcia's visage became understanding.

"Krueger," he said.

"You believe--" Nancy began to ask.

"Hey, after the hell the Walsh family went through, I'll believe anything," Garcia interrupted.

"What?" Nancy asked in confusion.

"The people who lived in your old house. Krueger tried to posses their son. It was--a whole big mess," Garcia answered.

"He tried to cross over?" Nancy gasped. _I didn't even think of that. Oh, gosh. That poor kid_, she thought to herself.

"Uh, could we focus here? A guy has been dismembered and splattered all over the hallway," Kincaid reminded them. Garcia turned to the group.

"Did you see anything?" he asked them.

"Just him spinning and then flyin' through the halls like a freakin' rubber band," Joey replied.

"You kids all right? Do you need anything?" Garcia asked gently.

"No, we're okay. We're familiar with…**him**," Kristen replied.

"Okay, then. You're all free to go," Garcia said.

"Thanks, Garcia," Nancy said.

"**You** be careful," Garcia warned.

"Of course I will," Nancy said. Meanwhile, Lorenzo was in the break room, feeling the affects of a drug he had stolen from the dispensary. Man, he needed this! These kids were so freaking crazy, and he was tired of always having to deal with them and their problems. He closed his eyes._ SCREE! Lorenzo's eyes popped open. What had that been? The sound came again._

_"What the hell?" the man asked. When the sound came again, Lorenzo darted towards the door, only to be thrown back._

_"Where ya goin'?" a voice asked. Lorenzo gaped in shock as a man suddenly materialized in front of him. _ _To the orderly's further shock, he was dressed as a doctor. "It's almost time for your medicine," the man told him._

_"I'm an orderly here," Lorenzo stated condescendingly. _

_"You sure about that?" the man questioned in the same tone. Lorenzo looked down, and to his surprise, instead of his work clothes,_ _he was in regular clothing._

_"What the hell's going on here?" Lorenzo demanded. The man tsk-ed and waved a gloved finger._

_"Temper, temper," he warned. Then, with a flick of his wrist, Lorenzo was thrown_ _into a_ _chair. Before he had time to react, four red-and-green straps snaked over the chair and tied_ _him down._

_"Wha--what are you gonna do?" Lorenzo stammered. The man chuckled and walked over to him. He let a blade glide slowly down the man's cheek._ _Lorenzo panted nervously. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it_ _wasn't good._

_"Aw, you nervous?" the man mocked. "Let me fix that," he stated. Then, his fingers turned into needles and jammed them into Lorenzo's arms. He screamed and the needles were quickly pulled out._

_"That's better. Now you'll be able to feel every little thing!" the man cackled. _ _Lorenzo screamed as the man's blades began slicing up his skin. _ Hearing a frightened scream, everyone tensed.

"Now what the hell's going on?" Joey asked.

"Joey," Nancy snapped reproachingly.

"Yeah, I know--language. Sorry," Joey apologized. There came another scream and everyone ran towards it.

"It's Freddy again! I can feel him," Kristen reported.

"It's coming from the break room!" Joey added. They all hurried towards the room as they heard one last strangled scream. They skidded to a stop.

"Damn! It's Lorenzo," Kincaid breathed.

"What happened to him?" Rick wondered, sounding nauseated.

"He was skinned alive," Kristen said softly.


	7. Explanations And Loss

DISCLAIMER

Belong to New Line Cinema and Wes Craven. I only own the new plot. I use a scene from the Dream Master 'cause I like it, as well as some lines from Dream Warriors. I have a new interpretation of the Dream Master idea, which will come up later.

Meanwhile, Garcia had walked out the door and had been about to enter his patrol car when he heard the commotion. Un-holstering his gun, he ran back into Westin Hills. He searched some of the open rooms, but found nothing. Hearing a noise, he whipped around, gun drawn. A nurse screamed.

"Oh, excuse me. I--I heard a commotion in here," Garcia apologized, pocketing the weapon.

"You must mean the screaming from the break room," the nurse said shakily.

"Did you see what happened?" Garcia asked.

"It--it was horrible. We were on our break together and--he just dozed off for a minute! And then--then--his skin--it--it--just started--coming off!" she said hysterically.

"Show me where the break room is,' Garcia instructed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want to go back in there," the nurse protested.

"I understand. Just tell me how to get there," Garcia said soothingly. The nurse did so and the officer went on his way.

"Hey, what happened here?" he asked. The group turned around.

"Garcia, are you still here?" Nancy questioned in surprise.

"I was just about to leave when I heard the commotion. I ran back in quick as I could. The nurse said someone named Lorenzo was skinned," Garcia said.

"That must've been Marcie. She and Lorenzo often took their breaks together," Kristen recalled.

"Well, for once, I think Krueger did the right thing," Joey said harshly.

"Joey!" Kristen gasped.

"That's cold, man. That's real cold," Kincaid commented.

"It's just Lorenzo. It's not like anyone would miss him anyways," Joey told them.

"Joey, knock it off. Now I'll be the first to admit that Lorenzo was a bit creepy, but he didn't deserve to die," Kristen commented.

"You don't know anything!" Joey bit off. He pushed through the group. _** Taryn ran through the halls, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly, she ran into Joey.**_

_**"Oh, sorry, Joey," she apologized. He looked at her questioningly.**_

_**"I'm all right," she told him. Joey fixed her with a look and Taryn sighed. She never **__**could**_ _**fool Joey. **_

_**"It's just the same crap with Lorenzo," Taryn answered. "You know, tryin' to get me high, saying he has the keys to the dispensary, the usual,"**_ _**Taryn stated. Sensing that there was more,**_ _**Joey waited.**_ _**Taryn's chin trembled.**_

_**"Okay, so this time, he got a little physical, got a little frisky," she bit off. Joey looked at her in surprise.**_

_**"Oh, Joey! I was so scared! I thought he was gonna--gonna--" Joey took Taryn into his arms and her body wracked with sobs. **__Dang it! Why didn't we ever tell anyone?_ Joey wondered. He ran his fingers through his hair. Then, he slumped his shoulders. He knew why: because Lorenzo had had a habit of saying that no one would believe a bunch of crazies like them. He blew out a breath and started pacing.

"Joey," a voice said. Joey turned around to see Nancy. "I think we need to talk," she commented.

"I'm sorry. It's just--Taryn used to get a **lot** of flak from Lorenzo and she was too scared to tell anybody," Joey apologized.

"And she confided in **you**," Nancy realized.

"Like I said, being selectively mute has its advantages," Joey said grimly.

"Well, Garcia's done here. I think we all need to talk," Nancy told them. He nodded.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed. He waved to the others. "Guys! We're leavin'!" he called.

"Right. Come on," Kristen agreed. With that, they all left and headed down the road. Finally, the group reached their destination: 1428 Elm Street. Dan whistled.

"What's with the haunted house?" he wondered.

"It's not just a house: it's his playground. He's in there waiting for us to dream," Kristen answered, as she leaned into Kincaid.

"It's all right, Little Sister. We're here with you," Kincaid assured, rubbing her arms.

"Yeah, you don't think we're gonna let you go in alone, do you?" Joey added, coming up beside them and taking her hand.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll need my team," Kristen told them, squeezing Joey's hand.

"Wait. I'm lost. Did I miss something here?" Dan questioned.

"Yeah, what's the big deal? I mean--didn't a girl like, go crazy in here?" Rick questioned.

"Yeah, I--think she her saw boyfriend get murdered or something," Debbie confirmed.

"And than that weird stuff that happened when the Walsh family moved here, like, what? Five, six, years ago?" Rick continued.

"It's more than that," Nancy spoke up. They turned to her. "Krueger used my old house to lead some kids to the boiler room," she continued.

"Krueger? You mean, Fred Krueger?" Rick asked in surprise. For a moment, Nancy was surprised herself, and then it dawned on her.

"Kristen told you, didn't she?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rick nodded.

"You used to live here?" Debbie asked.

"Yes. And I can tell you: all the rumors you've heard, pretty much false," Nancy answered.

"Hello, new kid here!" Dan reminded them, waving a hand as Kristen pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"Girl, that crap's gonna kill you," Kincaid scolded.

"Screw you, Kincaid," Kristen snapped.

"I would, but I think it'd make your boyfriend jealous," Kincaid responded. Kristen threw him a dirty look.

"Kris told us a story Fred Krueger who was a child murderer who killed twenty kids in the neighborhood and was let out on a technicality. Parents got pissed and roasted him like a thanksgiving turkey," Rick explained.

"Nice neighborhood," Dan said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, that's where it gets a little weird. According to Kris, he comes back in your dreams…and if you die in your dreams…it's for real," Rick continued.

"Wh--what?" Debbie asked. Was he serious? Before anyone could respond, there was a loud blare. Everyone turned around.

"Kristen! Get the hell away from that house! Andale! Andale!" Elaine Parker shouted. With a grimace, Kristen went to palm the cigarette off to Alice, only to have it plucked out of her hand by Joey, who took a quick drag. Mrs. Parker drove the car a few miles up with a loud screech of her tires.

"You don't have to go anywhere," Rick told her, taking her into his arms.

"I better go," Kristen stated.

"Hey, you call us, Little Sister," Kincaid said.

"Oh, come on. You know I will," Kristen answered. Nancy, Joey, and Kincaid chuckled. Kristen got into her mother's car and drove off.

"You think we could hook Kristen's car to yours?" Joey queried.

"Sure," Kincaid agreed. The boys went to do so.

"Anyone else need a lift?" Nancy asked.

"No, we're good," the kids answered. Then, everyone went to their respective vehicles, and drove off. Later that night, Nancy, Kristen, Joey, Kincaid, Rick, Alice, Debbie, and Sheila met at Kristen's house.

"Where's Dan?" Alice wondered.

"I talked to him. He said he didn't want to get involved," Rick replied.

"Poser," Kincaid scoffed. Then, "What are we gonna do about this creep?"

"We have to get ready for him," Alice determined.

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Rick wondered.

"Each of us has a power in our dream--together, we can use our powers to stop him," Kristen explained.

"Powers?" the others chorused.

"My agility," Kristen answered.

"My super strength," Kincaid added.

"My sonic scream," Joey grinned. Kristen and Kincaid laughed and both shook the boy.

"Come on, you guys. What do I look like? A milkshake?" Joey asked. Everyone laughed. Meanwhile, Dan was at his house, running drills. After a while, he went back inside.

"Hi, honey," Laura Jordan greeted.

"Hi, Mom," Dan acknowledged.

"Good workout?" she asked.

"The best," he confirmed. "I'm gonna go take a nap before dinner," he said.

"All right, honey," she agreed. He went upstairs. With a sigh, he flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. _When he opened them, he was surprised to see that it was considerably darker outside._

_"What?" he asked. Then, there was a rattling noise from his closet. "What the heck?" he questioned. The rattling came_ _again._ _Curious, Dan got off the bed and walked towards the_ _closet. The rattling came a third time._

_"Hey, who's there?" he asked, as he approached the door. He opened it. His eyes widened and he screamed. _


	8. Revelations

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

The Master Of Horror (Ch 1): Thanks. Catch ya on the flip side.

Darkness Takes Over (Ch 6): Thanks. I was hopin' I was doin' him right. Yeah, I like him too.

DISCLAIMER

Okay, I just realized I made an inconsistency. I mentioned the Dream Master and the rhyme, and then said I wasn't doin' the gateway angle. However, I **do** plan on using the rhyme, just in a different way. I apologize for any confusion. I'm not sure about all of Will's personality, but he seemed like the type who'd be a whiz kid. Part of the Dream Master rhyme is the same, but the rest is different.

The next morning, Joey, Kristen, Kincaid, Rick, Alice, Debbie, and Sheila met in class before the bell even rang.

"Where's Dan?" Debbie wondered.

"He's probably just running late," Sheila answered. Joey looked at Alice, who was chewing her bottom lip.

"Hey, you all right?" he questioned.

"It's just--it's a lot," she stammered.

"I don't blame you," he said. "But hey, we've explained how the Dream World works, and you seem to have some knowledge about it. Now all we gotta do is figure out what your dream power is," he continued, giving her a half hug. Alice bit her lip harder to keep from squealing with joy. He was touching her! Joey Crusel was actually touching her! Joey, however, seemed oblivious to efforts, and soon released her. Alice smiled, feeling her heart drop.

"I don't know, you guys. Do you really think we can beat him?" Debbie wondered.

"We have before," Joey answered.

"Yeah, we kicked his ass all over Dreamland," Kincaid bragged.

"Don't get cocky," Kristen cautioned. Rick watched as Kincaid became somewhat sheepish.

"Sorry, Kris," he apologized.

"It's okay," she told him. Rick let out a soft scoff. He couldn't believe how Joey and Kincaid--outsiders to the Springwood High social scene--could actually be friends with Kristen. They were bad news. And yet…they seemed to be willing to help her with that Krueger freak she kept talking about. Then, Debbie noticed what Sheila was holding.

"What is that?" she wondered.

"Well, I know you're afraid of bugs and--" her explanation was cut off by a scream by her friend.

"Ew! How'd **that** get in here?" Joey questioned. Debbie scrambled onto the desk and stood still. Sheila took the device, pointed it at the cockroach, and pressed a button. The insect scurried off.

"What was **that**?" Rick wondered.

"Ultrahigh sound waves," Sheila answered as Kincaid helped Debbie down.

"All right," Joey approved. _That sounds like something Will would've thought of_, he thought to himself.

"Very cool," Kincaid added. _Man, Will would've __**loved**__ to meet __**her**_, he thought to himself. As well as being a Wizard Master addict, the kid had been extremely bright.

"Thanks, Sheila," Debbie stated.

"No problem, Deb," Sheila answered. Before they could say anymore, the bell rang and they all sat down as the teacher came in. Then, he began teaching. At first, the kids were disinterested, but when they heard mention of dream walking and a Dream Master, Kristen, Joey, Kincaid, Rick, Alice, and Sheila all leaned forward. Presently, Alice raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Johnson?" the teacher asked.

"Isn't there a rhyme about a Dream Master?" Alice queried.

"That's correct," the teacher confirmed. Kristen, Joey, and Kincaid leaned forward.

"Well, how does it go?" Joey wondered.

"Oh, let's see: 'Now I lay me down to sleep, the Master of my Dreams my soul will keep. From our nightmares, evil thrives, and pleasures itself with taking lives. But one has prepared the way and taught others to keep the nightmares at bay. Out of dreams, a group will rise, and there within our hope lies," the teacher recited.

"What does that mean?" a boy asked.

"Honestly, I've got no clue," the teacher admitted. As he went on, Debbie found herself nodding off. _She opened her eyes as the teacher continued talking. She turned to her seatmate. _

_"Why didn't you wake me up?" she chided._

_"Why would I do that?" the boy asked._

_"So I don't miss anything," Debbie answered. _

_"Oh, yes. That __**would**__ be a shame," the boy said. "All you have to do is remember the rhyme: 'From our nightmares, evil thrives, and pleasures itself with taking_ _lives," the boy quoted._

_"I don't like that rhyme. It's creepy," Debbie_ _commented._ _She started to get up, but was trapped in by a small wooden plank. The boy chuckled._

_"Really? Well, I __**love**__ the rhyme!" he grinned. Debbie screamed as the boy turned into a burned man with a brown fedora, a red-and-green sweater, and a gloved razor with four knives. He chuckled._

_"Yeah, __**squirm**__," Krueger encouraged a struggling Debbie. Debbie whimpered and tried to get away, but to no avail. He laughed and waved her chair forward with a flick of his wrist. Debbie whimpered._

_"Please, please," she begged. Krueger just continued laughing. Debbie screamed and sobbed as the chair was telekenetically lifted into the air. Her eyes widened. She flew through the air and out a window._ Alice screamed.

"Debbie!" Rick cried. The teacher stammered, and then fainted.

"This is getting out of control! He's getting stronger!" Joey exclaimed fearful, jumping up.

"Joey, calm down," Kristen warned.

"No, you were right. He's coming back for us," Joey stated.

"Joey," Kincaid said.

"Don't--don't you see? He's--he's killing our friends to get to us," Joey pointed out.

"Come on, man. Don't lose it now. We're still a team," Kincaid reminded, also standing up.

"NO! I can't let this happen again!" Joey shouted.

"'Again'?" Kristen echoed, standing up as well. "Joey, what are you talking about?" she questioned.

"It was right before I went to Westin Hills--Mom and Dad, they were making us take sleeping pills, and I didn't want to anymore," Joey told them.

"Joey, what happened?" Alice questioned, walking up to him.

"No, forget it. I--I--" Joey stammered, running his fingers through his hair.

"Joey, we're a team. We need you to be straight with us," Kristen stated.

"Kris, you don't understand. It's all my fault--**me**, **mine**!" Joey shouted.

"What? What's your fault, man?" Rick wondered, as he and the others walked up to their friend.

"I--I **begged** Bobby to take my pill. I **begged** him. So he did. And then Krueger came," Joey told them.

"Oh, Joey," Alice sympathized, putting a hand on his cheek.

"Don't you see? It was all my fault. **I** did it. **I** got my brother killed," Joey revealed.


	9. Dream Powers

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

SweetestSin01: Yeah. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Darkness Takes Over: Glad you think so. Thanks, hope you enjoy the next one.

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Hi, everyone! I'm back. Same disclaimers apply. NOES belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema, and I only own the plot.

"Oh, Joey. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known," Kristen said as Joey pulled away from Alice's touch.

"Yeah, man. None of us knew what Krueger was up to until Nancy clued us all in," Kincaid agreed.

"But--if only I hadn't--" Joey began. Kristen held up a hand, silencing him.

"Joey, you could talk until your face is blue, but it's not going to make any difference," she interrupted. Recognizing when he was beat, the boy nodded. Then, he glanced at Alice, trying not to think about how much her touch had excited him. After all, she was only being sympathetic towards him. Man, if she only knew how beautiful she really was! It wasn't the kind of beauty that made guys' eyes pop out, but rather the kind of beauty one could only get from being sweet, kind, gentle, and loving towards others. Despite his penchant for a pretty body, Alice was the kind of girl he was **really** attracted to. But she'd never go for a guy like him, which was why he had cut their half hug short. That…and the silence had started to turn awkward. He hadn't wanted to embarrass her, so he had forced himself to pull away. Kincaid looked at Joey, unsure of what to say. He wasn't too good with this touchy-feely stuff. He was better at fighting and mixing it up. But on the other hand, they had all lost people they cared about to Krueger. Friends, family…the list could go on and on. Everyone looked to Kristen.

"What do we do?" Rick questioned.

"We gotta talk to Nancy. She can help us prepare," Kristen determined.

"Yeah, I'd feel better if we had a little more expertise here," Joey commented.

"I hear that," Kincaid agreed, giving him a low five. They all started out.

"Well, what about--" Alice began, motioning towards the teacher.

"We'll send a nurse," Rick interrupted assuringly. True to his word, they paused momentarily at the nurse's station to state what happened, and then went on their way. The nurse stammered for a bit.

"I--I'm sure we have a principal. In fact, I **know** we do. So why doesn't he ever stop people from leaving?" she complained. Meanwhile, the group got into their respective cars and drove to Westin Hills, where Nancy was currently talking with Max.

"I don't know, Nancy. I mean, you're saying that some dead guy is doing this to the kids in their sleep? It **doesn**'**t** make sense," the man stated.

"Max, I understand how incredible it sounds, but I've lived through this twice now," Nancy told him. "And if we don't help the kids, more of them are going to die," she continued. Max was about to say more, when the doors burst open and Kristen, Joey, Kincaid, Rick, and Alice ran through the entrance.

"Don't you guys go to school anymore?" Max wondered.

"He just killed Debbie. She--she fell asleep in class," Joey reported. "Nancy, we're--we're getting our friends killed. He's killing them to get to us, and--my folks don't have money for another surgery," he continued. Rick, Sheila, and Alice glanced at each other. **Another** surgery? What was he talking about? They looked at the boy, but didn't voice their confusion.

"Joey, don't worry about that. We'll get it figured out…just like last time," Nancy assured. Joey blew out a breath and nodded. Alice and Rick stared at them. What was that all about?

"So, how do we fight?" Alice wondered. "We go in," Nancy determined.

"W--w--wait. Go **in**? You said this guy was a killer!" Rick protested.

"Yeah! I--I mean, how would we even have a chance?" Sheila added.

"Hey, calm down. It's like we told you: each of us has a special gift in the dream world," Kincaid said.

"That--that's not possible. We're--we're not that special," Sheila stammered.

"All right, hold on. We're going to need some privacy for this," Nancy interrupted.

"Whoa, wait. Hold on. If this is going to be like that experiment Dr. Simms caught you doing--" Max began.

"Oh, who cares what that old bat thinks?" Joey interrupted. "Just let Nancy do what she needs to," he continued. Max shook his head.

"No. **You** wound up in a coma because of one of her stunts," he stated.

"No, I didn't! It was Krueger!" Joey protested. Max stared, and then sighed.

"Fine. Do whatever," he agreed.

"You can come with us, Max," Nancy offered.

"Girl, you're talking crazy," Max said.

"Come on, Max. Your kids are dying off again. Don't you want to stop him?" Nancy questioned. For a moment, the man stared. Then, "Yeah, I wanna put a stop to this."

"Okay, then," Nancy said. With that, she led them to the t.v. room. "All right, everyone take a seat," she instructed, and the group did so.

"Can you take so many people at once, Kris?" Joey questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Max wondered before she could respond.

"I think we're about to find out," Rick answered. Nancy turned to the desk and swung the pendulum.

"Everyone watch the pendulum. Imagine your eyes getting heavier and heavier. All you want to do is sleep," the woman said. At her words, the group did as they were told. "Watch the pendulum; imagine yourself in the dream world. I'm gonna count backwards from five. When I'm finished, we'll all be asleep," she continued. Rick suppressed a yawn. "Five…four…three…two…one…" _When everyone opened their eyes, they were still in the room._

"_Sorry, you guys," Kristen apologized._

"_See, I knew this was a waste of time," Max stated as they all stood up. The orderly began to walk off._

"_Wait. Nobody move," Joey instructed. Everyone turned to him. "We should test this out. Somebody do something,"_ _he_ _continued. Kristen moved the chair to the other side of the room and like last time, did a flip through the air. However, the flip turned into a series of twists and turns at blinding speed. Finally, she landed with a flourish. Everyone cheered, _and _Max felt his jaw dropping._

"_Wow, Kris! That was amazing!" Joey said._

"_Yeah, Little Sister, where'd you learn __**that**__?" Kincaid questioned._

"_I--I don't know. I--I just went to do a flip. It was the most fantastic thing I've ever felt!" Kristen raved. Kincaid went to one of the chairs, picked it up, and started bending the legs. Everyone winced._

"_Oh, that's worse than his knives," Joey complained. Suddenly, one of the legs snapped and fell to the ground._

"_Whoops," Kincaid said._

"_What's going on?" Kristen wondered._

"_They're growing," Nancy realized. "Your powers--they're growing," she told the trio. _ _Joey, Kristen, and Kincaid looked at each other._

"_Cool," they chorused._

"_Come on, man. See what __**you**__ can do now," Kincaid _urged.

"_Yeah, come on, Joey," Kristen_ _added._

"_Oh, come on, guys. I'm lucky I even __**have**__ a power,"_ _Joey objected. However, Kristen and_ _Kincaid kept up their encouragements._

"_Guys, no," Joey said._

"_Come on. Come on, man," Kristen and Kincaid said._

"_NO!" Joey insisted. Immediately, the room began to shake._

"_Well, we see how Joey's powers amplified," Nancy answered as the shaking_ _subsided._

"_So, if I'm understanding this correctly, each of us has something we can do in our dreams?" Sheila questioned._

"_Yeah, that's what we've been saying," Joey confirmed. The girl frowned thoughtfully. She whirled around the room, and then stopped when she was facing the t.v. _again. _Then, it started flicking on and off. Finally, it stayed_ on. _With a wave of her hand, she started flipping the channels. Joey, Kristen, Kincaid, and Nancy laughed and applauded, as Max just stood watching them in shock._

"_What is going on here?" he wondered. Finally, Sheila turned off the t.v._

"_I can't believe it! That was so cool!" she grinned._

"_Hey, check out Rick!" Joey exclaimed._ _Everyone turned to see the boy in a gi composed of a green jacket and black pants. _ _He performed a series of intricate martial arts moves. When he was done, everyone cheered and applauded._

"_Let's see Krueger take on __**me**__," Rick grinned. _

"_Don't get overconfident," Nancy cautioned._

"_Yeah, she's right. It could get you killed," Joey agreed. Suddenly, the room filled with fire! Everyone cried out in surprise and jumped away from the flames._

"_What's going on?" Max wondered._

"_Is it Freddy?" Nancy asked at the same time._

"_No, it's not Freddy. I'd feel him," Kristen replied. _

"_It's me, guys," Alice told them. She parted the flames and walked past them._

"_Very cool," Rick grinned._

"_It's always the quiet ones that surprise ya," Kincaid commented. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned around. To his surprise, Alice was right behind him!_

"_What?" he asked. Sheila yelped in surprise as Alice appeared in front of her._

"_What's going on?" Kincaid asked. It was Joey who figured it out first. _

"_She can multiply too," he stated. _

"_Cool," everyone approved. Rick leaned away from the flames._

"_Alice, could you turn this off?" he requested. Almost immediately, the flames went on. Simultaneously, the t.v. switched on._

"_Sheila!" the group cried._

"_It wasn't me," Sheila protested. _

"_I--I was just thinking how it was cool that she could control machines," Joey stammered. One of the Alice clones_ _suddenly charged him and he jumped out of the way, doing a backwards flip as Sheila turned off the t.v._

"_Wh--what's happening to me?" Joey questioned, a hint of fear in his voice._

"_Joey, calm down. I think I know what's happening," Nancy told him._

"_Wh--what?" Joey stammered._

"_You've gained another power. You can mimic others," Nancy told him._

"_Wow. That's kinda cool," Kristen stated as the Alice clones disappeared._

"_Hey, I bet that's how I pulled you in," Joey said to Kincaid._

"_No doubt," Kincaid agreed._

"_That's kind of cool," Rick said. Max stared at the group._

"_Wait. This is impossible," he told them. _

"_How can you say that after seeing all of this?" Rick wondered._

"_It's a dream. I've always had strange dreams," Max responded_.

"_Yeah, but Kris is the one who pulled you in. This isn't your dream," Joey pointed out._ _That gave the man pause. The kid had a point. Just then, the room started to shake._

"_He's here!" Kristen gasped._

"_Who? Freddy?" Alice asked timidly._ _Everyone tensed and Max protectively put himself in front of the group. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he'd be damned if he'd let anyone hurt these kids. There was a ripping sound and four gleaming, silver blades tore through the wall._

"_Get in the middle of the room! Do it now!" Nancy _ordered. _Joey, Kristen, and Kincaid herded their friends into the middle of the room._

"_What's going on?" Sheila wondered, fright in her voice._

"_Calm down. He's just trying to scare us. We __**have**__ to stay together," Kristen instructed. _ _Out of instinct, Alice clutched onto Rick._

"_Don't worry. I gotcha," he assured. There was another tearing sound and the kids whirled around. To their horror, four gleaming blades met them at every turn!_

"_He's all around us!" Rick realized. Almost as soon as he said this, Nancy was pulled away from the group._

"_NANCY!" Kristen exclaimed._ _ Max reached out and grabbed her arm._

"_I gotcha, girl," he grunted. An unseen force continued to pull at her and the man planted his feet._

"_Max…you gotta let me go. You have to protect the kids," Nancy said, as she felt an invisible arm wrap her waist. __**Okay, Krueger. You want me, you got me**__, Nancy thought. She couldn't believe it was going to end like this, but she'd accept it. At least Max would be here for the kids…he would be able to help them. Max struggled to hold on to the woman._

"_Max, let go!" Nancy insisted. Kincaid pushed through the group._

"_Kincaid, no!" Kristen shouted. The boy ignored his friend and joined Max, grabbing Nancy's other _arm.

"_Come on, Nancy. We can't lose you," he grunted, straining. The wall above her began to shimmy. _ _Rick, Alice, Joey, and Sheila watched, tensed._

"_NANCY!" Kristen shouted. The others_ _followed her gaze to see four large, silver blades._

"_Nancy!" they all cried. With surprising swiftness, the blades came crashing down!_


	10. Beliefs And Disbeliefs

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Darkness Takes Over: Thank you. I only saw the first half of the series premier, but I have to admit, he **was** the inspiration. Thank you.

SweetistSin01: Yeah, no prob. Yeah, I liked him too. Exactly. Lol. Read and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the new plot. Refers to my fic "Survivors".

"_NOOOOOOOOOO!" Joey shouted, causing the room to shake. Nancy tensed, anticipating the fatal blow. _ _However, the blades merely passed through her as if she wasn't even there. There was a roar of anger, and she was released. Kincaid and Max quickly pulled her towards the group. However, the other blades were still going strong._

"_Are you okay?" Kristen asked._

"_I--I was just trying to stay as still as possible. Thought that if I didn't move--he wouldn't be able to splatter me all over the place," Nancy told them._

"_And instead you got your dream power," Joey stated._

"_Yeah," Nancy grinned. Without warning, the floor rippled and everyone fell to the floor._

"_Oh, geez. He's not gonna turn into a giant snake again, is he?" Kristen wondered. Then, the floors and walls began shifting._

"_The room's closing in!" Rick shouted. Alice and Sheila grabbed onto each in fright. Joey panted nervously as the floor rose to meet the ceiling._

"_Kris, get us out of here, now!" he shouted. With a small cry, Kristen shut her eyes and concentrated. _The door opened.

"What on Earth is going on here?" Dr. Ken Carver demanded as everyone awoke.

"Okay, that was **way** too close," Joey sighed as everyone helped each other up.

"Dr. Thompson. I should've known," Dr. Carver stated with a huffing sigh.

"Another unauthorized session Dr. Thompson?" Dr. Elizabeth Simms accused.

"At least she listens to us," Kincaid bit off.

"Kincaid," Nancy chided. The boy didn't reply, but had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Dr. Thompson, I have half a mind to re-fire you," Dr. Carver told her.

"Dr. Carver, I'm afraid that'd be impossible and unfair," Dr. Neil Gordon told him.

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Carver demanded.

"These aren't patients of ours," Dr. Gordon stated.

"Which is even more alarming: bringing in outsiders into a high security ward," Dr. Carver responded.

"And you wonder why we never listened to you," Joey said.

"Joey," Nancy chided again.

"Sorry," Joey apologized. However, he continued to throw daggers at the man with his eyes.

"Doctor Carver, Doctor Simms, I think it's high-time you started listening to her," Max commented. Surprised, the two turned to him.

"Max, don't tell me she's gotten to you too," Dr. Simms stated.

"You owe us! You sent her away and nearly got me killed! You nearly got **Joey** killed!" Kristen snapped.

"Kris, Kris, calm down," Rick said soothingly, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I'm not going to calm down! I'm so sick and tired of everybody acting like they know what they're doing, when they don't have a freakin' clue!" Kristen shouted. Then, "Come on!" With that, she started off, the others close behind.

"Max, what happened here?" Dr. Simms questioned.

"Doc, you're gonna think it's crazy," Max replied.

"Max, if Dr. Thompson's done anything to those kids--" Dr. Carver began.

"Now wait a minute, Dr. Carver. You and Dr. Simms may not agree with her opinions, but you know fully well that she'd **never** hurt the kids," Dr. Gordon interrupted.

"Neil, are you forgetting that one of her little experiments landed Joey in a coma?" Dr. Simms demanded.

"Dr. Simms, I'm not so sure it was her," Max said.

"Max, given the light of evid--" Dr. Simms began to say.

"You weren't the one who found her! **I** was!" Max interrupted. His mind went back.

"_What on Earth?" Max asked. He knelt down by Nancy who had blood seeping through her shirt. He quickly pressed buzzer._

_"I'm okay. It's over now," Nancy said weakly._

_"You just hold on girl," Max stated._

"Dr. Simms, I'm starting to believe that Nancy Thompson was doing what she claimed all along--trying to help the kids," he told them.

"Why on Earth would you believe **that**?" Dr. Simms questioned.

"When I found her--her cuts--they looked like they had been made by four razors," Max reported. Meanwhile, the others had driven over to Nancy's house and had gathered in the living room. They watched as Kristen paced back and forth.

"Kris, will you stop? You're making me seasick," Joey complained.

"The nerve of them!" Kristen fumed.

"Well, we always knew Dr. Carver and Dr. Simms were idiots," Kincaid reminded her.

"But accusing Nancy like that!" Kristen exclaimed. "That stupid b--" she began.

"Kristen," Nancy warned.

"She nearly killed us,' Kristen continued. Meanwhile, Elaine Parker, Roger and Shelly Crusel, and Bob and Mary Kincaid met with each other at the Crusel's house.

"Okay, what am I doing here? I have important things to do," Elaine stated.

"Principal Styner called. He said that our kids once again ran out of Springwood High in the middle of the day," Bob answered.

"I just don't understand why Joey would do something like this. It's just not like him," Shelly commented.

"I'll tell you what it is: it's that Nancy Thompson woman," Elaine said harshly. "Kristen spends nearly all of her time with her, talking about who knows what," she continued.

"But to hear the kids talk, Miss Thompson is a heroine," Roger pointed out.

"Some heroine. She nearly got your boy Joseph killed," Elaine sniffed. "And to make matters worse, she's got those poor kids **still** talking about Fred Krueger as if that maniacal bastard is still alive," she continued. For a moment, the parents stared at each other. It was Shelly who broke the silence.

"What if they're right?" she asked.

"What?" the others questioned.

"What if our kids are right?" she repeated. "What if Fred **has** come back? What if he **is** killing them in their dreams?" she wondered. The whole group became silent.


	11. Confrontations And Protection

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Windyfontaine (Chs 5-10): Yep. Well, enjoy. Yeah, guess it **was** kinda gross. Thanks. Yep. You'll see. Thanks. Enjoy. Awesome. Thanks. Enjoy. Wait and see. Have a good read. Yep. We'll see. Thanks. I don't know. Right now, secondary characters are up for grabs. Sorry, can't introduce anybody new. I have the characters in place. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. Hope everything works out for you. Thanks. Hope you enjoy. Thanks, you too.

Sweetestsin01: Yep. Sorry this isn't soon enough. We'll see.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the new plot line. I use one line from Dream Masters and a variation of Marge's line in NOES. One scene inspired from the _Freddy's Nightmares_ episode "Photo Finish". Tried to find Joey's address on various NOES sites but couldn't, so I'm just going to make something up.

Later that night, each of the parents confronted their kids.

"Kristen, is there something wrong?" Mrs. Parker questioned. "I thought this was your favorite meal," she continued.

"It **is**, Mom. It's great. I just got a lot of stuff on my mind," Kristen assured her mother.

"Your sleeping's been erratic lately. Not to mention that you've been skipping school," the woman noted.

"I've had a lot of work to do," Kristen told her.

"Like what?" Elaine wondered sharply.

"I'm having those awful nightmares again," Kristen admitted. "Mom, he's back. Krueger's come back for us," she stated.

"Kristen, we've been through this in therapy!" Elaine snapped irritably, standing up. Honestly, why was Kristen pushing this? If she'd just forget about Fred, everything would be okay again.

"No, Mom. **You**'**ve** been through it in therapy!" Kristen exclaimed, jumping up. "Why won't you listen to me?! You're so busy with all your clubs and activities, and your stupid social life! You're more concerned about all of your things then you are about me!" she shouted.

"Kris, no," Elaine said in surprise. "Honey, I love you. You know that," she assured her daughter.

"Then why won't you listen to me?" Kristen demanded.

"Because Fred Krueger is **dead**, honey. Can't you understand that? Fred Krueger is dead because I already killed him!" Elaine shouted.

"And he's coming back because I'm one of the last!" Kristen screamed. Elaine stared.

"The last?" she echoed blankly.

"One of the last of the Elm Street children," Kristen replied. Elaine continued to stare. What? What was she talking about? Fred was dead! She and the others had killed him.

"Mom, I know this is a lot--" Kristen began.

"Forget it. I don't want to talk about it," Elaine interrupted. "Finish your dinner," she instructed. Kristen rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. Kincaid was on the couch when his parents came up.

"Roland, can we talk to you?" Bob questioned.

"Sure, what's up, Dad?" Kincaid questioned.

"Principal Styner. He's said that you and your friends have been cutting class a lot lately," Bob answered.

"I've had a lot to deal with. Stuff that's more important than school," Kincaid stated.

"Roland, there is nothing more important than your education," Mary chided.

"Sure there is--staying alive," Kincaid retorted.

"This isn't about Fred Krueger again, is it? The man is dead, Roland! How many times do we have to tell you this?" Bob demanded. Mary turned to Bob.

"Remember what Shelly said?" she softly reminded him.

"Look, Roland, maybe you'd feel better if you talked to someone about this," the man continued, ignoring his wife.

"Like who?" Kincaid wondered.

"Like someone from Westin Hills. Maybe Dr. Carver, or--" Bob began.

"No! Absolutely not!" Kincaid interrupted, jumping up.

"Now, Roland, I know you and the staff at Westin Hills had a little disagreement--" Bob continued.

"'Little disagreement'?" Kincaid interrupted again. "Those idiots nearly got us killed!" he stated. Before his parents could say anymore, he ran upstairs to his room. Frustrated, Mary turned to her husband.

"Bob, I thought we had agreed to handle this a little differently," she fumed. At the Johnson house, Rick and Alice were eating a late dinner.

"Wonder where Dad is," Alice commented. Rick sighed.

"You know where he is," he commented. Alice gave a small, sad smile. He was right. She did: he was out getting another drink.

"Yeah, I know…but I can hope," she stated. Meanwhile, Joey was driving around Springwood, trying to avoid going home. However, he finally went down the road to his house. Meanwhile, at his house, Roger was sitting in his living room chair, wondering if Shelly's hypothesis could be true. **Could** Fred be back? He sighed and shook his head. That was crazy. He closed his eyes. _There was a sinister chuckle._

"_Shoulda listened to your boy," a voice said. Roger jumped up. To his surprise a very familiar face stood in front of_ _him_! _Roger gasped, and then took off. Krueger gave_ _chase. Roger tripped over the furniture and Krueger_ _telekenetically threw the man back into a chair and pinned him there. __Then, with maniacal laughter, he reared back his gloved hand, and then struck. _Joey opened the door. He rolled his neck, trying to get the kinks out of his shoulders that had appeared from the drive. He flipped on the light. His jaw dropped.

"DAD!" he shouted. The man was sitting in his chair, throat slashed. _Oh, no. No_, he thought to himself, raking his hair with hands. Then, "Mom!" Then, he ran upstairs. _Shelly struggled with Krueger as she pinned him to her bed by holding him under her covers. She couldn't let him get away! She couldn't let him get to Joey_

"_You bitch. I'll kill you slow," he_ _threatened as he struggled to get away._

"_Think again, Fred," she snapped. Suddenly, the situation changed! Now it was Shelly who was under the covers! Krueger chuckled._

"_Don't feel too badly, Shelly. It was a valiant and noble effort," he told her. Then, he began to choke her. _When Joey got to his parents' bedroom, he found his mother on the bed, choking.

"NO! MOM!" he shouted. He ran to her, leaned over, and attempted to wake her. _Please, please, please, please, please, __**please**__, __**PLEASE**__!_ his mind begged silently. He didn't want to be left alone. Her eyes popped open and she grabbed his shirt.

"Mom," he said in relief.

"You're okay," she stated in the same tone. "Thank God you're okay." Then, she gave one last strangled choking sound, and then fell back on the bed.

"No! NO!" Joey shouted. He made a small, whimpering sound. Then, he ran back down the stairs and to the kitchen phone and began dialing.

"Springwood Police Department. Lt. Garcia speaking," he heard a voice announce.

"M--my parents. He--he killed my parents," Joey stammered.

"What's your address?" Lt. Garcia questioned.

"1553 Elm Street. Just hurry!" Joey encouraged in a shaky voice.

"I'll be right there," Lt. Garcia assured. They hung up. Joey began whimpering again and he slid to the ground, and began rocking back and forth. This was how Lt. Garcia and two other officers found him as other officers checked the crime scenes.

"Joey?" Lt. Garcia asked, kneeling down so they were eye level. "Joey, what happened?" he questioned. The boy's answer chilled the officer to the bone. It was shaky and terror-filled.

"One, two...Freddy's coming for you…"


	12. Reckless Act

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

MysticGohan88 (Ch 1): Hey, long time no see. Yes, this saves characters I like. Read on and see. I don't know, maybe. I'll keep it in mind. Hope you like the update.

Darkness Takes Over: Thanks. Me too, and **I**'**m** the one who did it to him.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the new plot. Uses a line from NOES 1.

Minutes later, Joey was sitting in one of chairs in the police station, with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Sorry I can't give you anything stronger. I mean, if anyone ever needed a drink, it's **you**," Lt. Garcia stated apologetically.

"No. It's--it's fine. The coffee's perfectly fine," Joey assured him.

"Nancy and the rest of your friends should be here in a few minutes," Lt. Garcia told him.

"Good. That's good," Joey stated. He let out a shaky breath. "She--she **knew**, Lt.," he stated.

"What are you talking about?" Lt. Garcia wondered.

"She--she talked to me. Right--right before she died. She--she looked at me," Joey revealed.

"What did she say?" Lt. Garcia wondered.

"'You're okay. Thank God you're okay'," Joey quoted. Lt. Garcia stared at the boy. Shelly Crusel had known Krueger was hunting the kids? "She--she was--she was protecting me. She--she had been choked--" his breathing became even more labored.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, kiddo," Lt. Garcia soothed.

"Take it easy? He killed my parents! I'm all alone," Joey said. Before Lt. Garcia could respond, the door opened to reveal Nancy, Kincaid, Kristen, Rick, and Alice who came running up to him and they all knelt down so that they were face-to-face with each other.

"Hey, man. We just heard," Rick stated.

"Joey, I'm so sorry," Alice said at the same time.

"We won't let him get away with this, Joey. I promise you," Nancy declared.

"Yeah, man. He made a big mistake. He forgot that we're all a team," Kincaid added.

"Yeah, that's right," Kirsten, Rick, and Alice agreed.

"What am I gonna do? Where am I gonna live?" Joey wondered.

"Well--and Garcia, I understand that this proposal is highly irregular--maybe you could come live with me, just until we get things sorted out," Nancy suggested.

"As you say Nancy, it's highly irregular. However, these are unusual circumstances. He'd probably be safest with you," Garcia stated. "I'll arrange it. Make sure you don't hit any snags," he continued.

"Thank you," Nancy told him.

"Joey, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what you're going through," Kristen commented.

"Thanks, Kris. I'm just glad you guys are here," Joey stated. He blew out a breath. Kristen stared at her friend. His eyes were haunted and his face was haggard-looking. The girl pulled Nancy aside.

"We have to put an end to this. I want Krueger dead…for **good**…you hear me?" Kristen hissed. Then, she walked back to the group. Back at Westin Hills, Dr. Simms and Dr. Carver were discussing Nancy's abrupt departure and the nature of it, unaware that Max was listening in.

"What do you make of it, Ken?" Dr. Simms questioned.

"Well, from her end, it had sounded like something had happened at Joey's," Dr. Carver replied.

"Hope he's all right. I mean, I heard Miss Thompson say something about Joey finding his parents…whatever **that** means," Dr. Simms stated.

"Is…Joey okay?" Max questioned. The two turned around.

"We don't know," Dr. Carver answered.

"Where is he now?" Max asked again.

"I--think I heard say she was going to the police station," Dr. Simms answered.

"You mind if I take my break to see how he is?" Max queried.

"Of course not, Max. Keep up posted, please," Dr. Simms requested.

"You got it," Max promised. He signed himself out and then took off.

"Oh, the poor boy. I hope he's all right," Dr. Simms said. Max got into his car, started the engine, and headed for the Springwood Police Department. When he got there, he parked, and then ran in.

"Joey? Is Joey Crusel here?" he asked the desk clerk. The man pointed, and the orderly took off. Hearing the footsteps, everyone turned around.

"I just heard. Is he all right?" Max questioned.

"I'm--I'm all right, Max. I wasn't asleep," Joey answered, as the man came up to him.

"What exactly happened, man?" Max questioned.

"I came home and found Dad murdered in his easy chair. Then I thought about Mom, so I ran upstairs and he was choking her. I--I couldn't save her," Joey stated, repeating the story from earlier.

"Damn," Max sighed. Kristen leaned into Nancy.

"Like I said, I want Krueger **dead**," she hissed again. Nancy nodded.

"It'll happen," she promised.

"What's our next step?" Max questioned.

"We take the fight to him. Show him that he can't just screw with our friends," Kincaid answered. The others spoke in agreement. Joey smiled softly. He couldn't believe he had such amazing friends.

"So, what do we do? Just go in?" Rick asked.

"Now, I'm pretty new to all this dream stuff, but that seems like the **worst** thing we could do. It's reckless, impulsive--" Max began to say.

"And that's exactly why we're doing it," Kristen interrupted.

"Kristen--" Nancy began.

"Someone's gotta make him pay. I won't stand for him hurting someone on my team," Kristen interrupted.

"Kris, calm down. He's trying to make you reckless," Kincaid cautioned. Kristen stopped, as if realizing how she was acting.

"You're right. You're absolutely right," she agreed. "Sorry," she apologized.

"Hey, we understand your frustration," the older woman told her.

"I need the bathroom. I'll be right back," Kristen said.

"Down the hall," Lt. Garcia stated. She walked out into the hall and continued until she found what she was looking for. She went into the bathroom and locked the door. Then, she stood so that she was facing the mirror.

"Okay, Krueger. We play in your court," she declared. Then, she backed up against the wall and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. She closed her eyes, and slipped into a deep sleep. Joey jerked.

"Joey?" Nancy asked.

"She went in," Joey reported.

"What?" the others gasped.

"She went in there all alone," Joey reported.


	13. The Showdown

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Sweetestsin01: Yep. Yeah, he did. Read on and see.

Darkness Takes Over: Read on and see. Yeah, I like too, and I hope you'll pm me when **that** particular story is up. Thanks. Read on and see.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the new plot. Reference to NOES 1.

_Kristen strode angrily down the hallway of the boiler room. Water dripped and metallic screeing filled the air. Suddenly, she heard a familiar rhyme._

_One, two, Freddy's coming for you._

_Three, four, better lock your door._

_"Quit screwing around, Krueger! Just come on out!" Kristen shouted. _ _The rhyme stopped and a raspy chuckle filled the air. "You think I'm afraid of you? Come out and fight me, you coward!" she continued. _ _Suddenly, a gust of air came through the pipes, knocking the girl down. "Is that all you got? Come on!" she dared, getting back up. _ _His maniacal laughter filled the air. The screeching came again. The sound of distant screaming was heard. Kristen panted. Maybe going in alone had been a bad _idea. Meanwhile, Joey had gathered the others together in a different room.

"Okay, we gotta go in," he announced.

"What--you wanna go in after this guy?" Lt. Garcia asked in surprise.

"He killed my parents and tricked Kris into goin' in there alone. She needs us," Joey insisted.

"Take us there, Joey. You can do it," Nancy encouraged. They all sat down.

"Close your eyes," Joey instructed. The group did so. "Everyone just concentrate. Think of Kristen. Think of going to her. Wherever she is, we'll find her," he continued. _When they opened their eyes, they were in a boiler room. Various screams and shouts for help filled the air._

_"Is any of those voices Kristen?" Max wondered._

_"No. It's past victims," Nancy answered._

_"You sure?" Lt. Garcia questioned, hand on his holster._

_"Can't you hear Rod, Garcia?" Nancy questioned. The man listened closely. At first, he couldn't hear anything, but then the words became_ _clearer._

_"Hey! Hey! Help!" the boy shouted. The Lt. nodded. _

_"I hear him," the man confirmed._

_"I don't get it. Why would he use the voices of kids who are already dead?" Rick wondered._

_"He's trying to distract us," Kincaid realized._

_"Come on. Let's find Kristen," Nancy stated. They continued walking. While this was going on, Kristen was involved in a deep fight with Krueger. The man grunted and made a swipe at her, but she quickly dodged the_ _attack. _ _The fight continued. Suddenly, she was thrown_ _back. She tried to get away, but she was held back by an invisible force. Krueger laughed let out another maniacal laugh._

_"Joey! Kincaid! Help!" Kristen shouted fearfully._

_"Come on," Joey said, after hearing the cry. They hurried towards the sound. As Krueger approached her, he waved his glove menacingly._

_"Can't escape me, piggy," he sneered._

_"We stopped you once!" Kristen told him._

_"And you came in all alone!" Krueger taunted. A flick of his wrist increased the invisible pressure on the girl, who cried out in pain._

_"JOEY! KINCAID!" she screamed._ _The sound of running feet told them both that her friends were on their_ _way. The pressure came again, and she_ _groaned. When the others got there, they saw Krueger keeping Kristen pinned to the wall._

_"KRIS!" Joey shouted. He flipped through the air, and kicked the man away, releasing his hold. The man _grunted _and stumbled back._ _Kristen quickly ran to her friends._

_"What were you thinking going in alone?" Nancy chided._

_"He hurt Joey. Tried to break him. Couldn't let it happen," Kristen answered._

_"Awwww…how touching," Krueger taunted. He let his blades scrape along the pi_pes. _Alice stepped closer to Rick, who took her into his_ _arms. The room began to shake and close in. His laughter started again._

_"Why is he doing this?" Alice wondered._

_"It's my nature," Krueger grinned. "From your nightmares, evil thrives, I pleasure myself with taking lives," he chanted_. _The kids froze at the rhyme._

"_The rhyme," Joey said. Nancy was the first to understand what he was saying._

"_Of course," she stated._

"_What are you talking about?" Rick questioned._

"_Now I lay me down to sleep, the Master of My Dreams my soul will keep--" Joey began._

"_From our nightmares, evil thrives, and pleasures itself with taking lives," Nancy chimed_ _in._

"_I don't get it!" Rick cried as Krueger multiplied and attacked each of the kids. _

"_The Master of Dreams and the preparing of the way--that's Nancy," Joey told_ them._ He then cried out as he was thrown back into a wall. Kincaid quickly helped him up and they both fought the second Krueger._

"_Of course. I was the first to defeat him," Nancy realized, coming to the same conclusion as the young boy._

"_And the rest of the rhyme?" Kincaid wondered._

"_It's __**us**__--we're the group," Alice realized, as she quickly dodged Krueger's attack. "We're the ones who can stop him!" she shouted._

"_But how?" the others asked._

"_Working together," Kristen stated, realizing the same thing as Joey and Nancy._

"_You mean linking up even more?" Kincaid_ _queried._

"_Exactly," Joey, Kristen, and Nancy_ _chorused. Again, they all froze. Confused, Krueger halted his attack. What were these kids doing? As the group concentrated on each other, they could feel the energy crackling in the air. There was a small zap_ _as the energy passed through them. One-by-one, the group smiled. They knew what to do now. As one, they attacked the multiple_ _Kruegers, using their own and each other's powers. The fakes of Krueger disappeared until only the real one remained. Kristen jumped over Krueger and then kicked him so that he landed in the middle of the_ _group._

"_Now, guys, now!" she shouted. Together, the_y _conjured up flames and then the_ man

"_I'll be back!" he roared, before melting into the flames. _With a gasp, everyone woke up.

"We did it! He's gone!" Sheila cheered, as they all stood up.

"But he said he'd back," Alice reminded.

"If and when that happens, we'll all be ready," Joey declared.

"Yeah," the others agreed. They slapped five.


	14. Leaving Town

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I know I didn't have Mr. Johnson in the fic before hand, but that was just because there was no use for him until now. I use some lines from The Dream Child.

ONE YEAR LATER

"So, in conclusion, though we've come a long way this past year, and have had some exciting times, but our journey's not over yet. A whole new life is waiting for us out there. We'll live, laugh, love, and cry. Hey, it'll be just like high school," Rick commented. Everyone laughed. "But seriously, I can't wait to see what happens to us all. It's gonna be a blast," he continued. There were murmurs of agreement from the other students. "So, with that said, let's blow this pop stand!" he exclaimed. Everyone cheered, as Rick walked off the stage. Afterwards, everyone gathered together into one big group, except for Joey, Kristen, Kincaid, Sheila, Rick, and Alice who met to one side. Rick and Kristen paired up together, as did Joey and Alice, who had started dating after the destruction of Krueger. Though still somewhat shy in new situations, Alice had come out of her shell and had started dressing in a style similar to Kristen's.

"We did it! We graduated!" Sheila celebrated.

"No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks!" Joey sang. Everyone laughed as Max and Nancy came up.

"Hey, congratulations, you guys," Nancy said.

"Yeah, way to go," Max added.

"Thanks," everyone chorused, as Alice looked around.

"Who are you looking for?" Max wondered.

"I don't see Dad," Alice commented, pulling slightly away from Joey.

"I'm sure he'll show," Rick stated.

"Hey, I think I see him," Joey told them.

"We'll be right back," Alice said, and the two walked up.

"How come you weren't at the ceremony, Dad??" Rick asked, his tone un-accusing, but curious.

"I didn't want to embarrass you two--the town drunk showing up," Ted Johnson said somewhat sheepishly.

"You're still going to your meetings, aren't you?" Alice queried.

"As per our agreement," Mr. Johnson assured them.

"Then, we would've been proud to have you here," Rick told him.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Johnson apologized.

"It's okay," Alice and Rick answered.

"So Alice, when are you and Joey taking off?" Mr. Johnson wondered.

"Tomorrow. Joey wanted to spend one last night with the gang," Alice answered.

"Will you two be out late?" Mr. Johnson asked again.

"Well, not **too** late, Dad. I mean, after all, I want to spend some time with **you** too," Alice answered. The man chuckled and kissed her on top of her head.

"Alice!" hearing her boyfriend's call, Alice hurried away. Her father shook his head and laughed.

"I think we lost her, Dad," Rick kidded.

"Aw, get out of here, you," Mr. Johnson told him. Rick then followed his sister. He watched with a soft smile as the group hurried to their cars and drive off. He was so proud of his kids. And he hoped he was making **them** proud. As Joey drove down the street, Billy Idol's _Fatal Charm_ played.

_There may be trouble ahead, baby, yeah._

_There may be teardrops to shed, ahuh._

_I'm comin' in from the cold, baby._

_Yes, I'm in, and I'm warm. You don't _

_Forget that, baby. Hey!_

_Well, I'm comin' in from the storm, uhuh,_

_Believe me mama._

_Yes, I'm in from the storm, okay, yeah, Forget it, mama._

_And there's a skin and bone, teardrop too,_

_Down on Maggie's farm._

_Yes, I lived that life, lived it through, and it Cut me a-with my fatal charm, with my fatal Charm._

_Wow! Shake!_

"Man, I love this song!" Joey crowed, turning up the volume. He began to sing along.

"Yeah, sing it, baby," Alice encouraged. Joey sang louder and she began dancing. Rick laughed at their antics. Joey continued until they reached Kristen's house. He parked, walked up to the door, and knocked. There was the sound of running feet and Kristen opened.

"Hi, guys. The others are upstairs," she stated.

"Great," Joey said. The two walked in, and they all went upstairs to her room.

"I can't believe it. Our last night," Alice said.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you guys," Kincaid added. "Especially **you two**. I mean, you're leaving us," he continued.

"What can I say, man? I gotta get out. I mean, other than you guys, I got nothin' left," Joey revealed softly. His friends looked at him sympathetically. They continued to talk. Kristen turned on her stereo, just in time for them to hear _Just Got Lucky_ by Dokken.

"Aw, man. Great song," Rick commented. Everyone stood up and began dancing as they sang along. After a couple of hours, everyone but Kristen left.

"I'll see you later," Rick promised, giving her a kiss.

"Okay," Kristen agreed, returning the gesture. When Alice and Rick got home, they found a cake waiting for them on the kitchen table.

"What's this?" Rick wondered.

"I figured you two deserved a reward for all your hard work this last year," Mr. Johnson told them. The two sat down and the man cut the cake, giving each of them a big slice. He poured three tall glasses of milk.

"What time's your meeting?" Alice questioned.

"I went to an earlier one so that I could spend some time with you," Mr. Johnson explained.

"Cool," Rick grinned.

"So, Alice, what plans do you and Joey have?" Mr. Johnson wondered.

"Well, Joey got a music scholarship to NYU, and Nancy--uh, Ms. Thompson--said that they're starting to get interested in dream studies, so I thought I'd get that a shot," Alice answered.

"When do you leave?" Rick questioned.

"Early tomorrow morning. Joey wants to leave as soon as possible," Alice replied.

"Can't say I blame him," Rick commented.

"Me neither," Alice agreed. They continued to talk. Then, Alice went up to her room, and packed. When she was done, she went to bed. The next morning, she got dressed, grabbed her things, and then waited until her boyfriend showed up in his red pickup.

"Hey, you ready?" Joey asked.

"Uh-huh. I just need some help," Alice stated. Joey helped her pack her things into the truck. Then, they got into the truck, and headed out of Springwood, radio blasting Billy Idol.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm aware that sponsors most likely wouldn't let the people they're sponsoring change meeting times as a general rule if one is supposed to go at a specific time, but I figured it might be allowed for special occasions.


End file.
